Agenda, 29 October

Europe’s raw materials future will depend on both primary extraction and secondary recovery, yet policy often treats the two as substitutes rather than complements. This session examines how mining, refining, recycling and scrap retention fit together in a realistic industrial strategy. It addresses the economics of circularity, high energy and regulatory costs, the competitiveness of recycling in Europe, and the limits of relying on secondary supply alone. The session also explores the political appeal of recycling compared with mining, and whether that distinction is obscuring the scale of the challenge. Open questions: How Europe can design a more coherent raw materials system in which extraction, processing and circularity reinforce one another rather than compete for legitimacy?

Are Europe’s raw materials ambitions match economic reality?

Project finance remains one of the decisive tests of whether Europe’s raw materials strategy can move beyond ambition. This session explores how mining and processing projects are being funded, what types of capital are available, and why many European assets still struggle to attract investment despite strong policy support. Key topics include equity financing, private capital, strategic investors, debt, public support instruments, offtake-backed funding and blended finance models. The session examines what investors are actually evaluating when they assess European projects: permitting uncertainty, cost inflation, timeline risk, commodity price exposure, power costs, technical complexity and political durability. Open questions include whether Europe’s policy frameworks are bankable enough to reduce risk, whether strategic project designation can materially improve financing conditions, and what combination of capital is most likely to support project development in the current market. The broader issue is whether Europe can create not only political momentum, but also credible investment conditions for a new generation of mining assets.

While the focus is often on lithium and cobalt, traditional commodities like gold and copper remain the financial backbone of the industry. This discussion explores how precious metal by-products can de-risk and bankroll complex critical raw material projects. Speakers will analyse how “multimetal” projects in Ireland, Scandinavia, and Iberia provide the economic stability needed to attract long-term institutional investment in an era of volatile commodity prices.

In Europe, project design is increasingly tied to political acceptability, environmental credibility and permitting success. This session focuses on the kinds of mine design, engineering choices and operational strategies that may improve the chances of project approval and long-term viability. Topics include underground mining methods, digital technologies, water stewardship, tailings design, progressive rehabilitation, biodiversity considerations, closure planning and “low-impact” approaches to mine development. The central issue is whether better-designed projects can reduce visible conflict, improve the quality of permitting applications and strengthen the overall case for mining in high-standard jurisdictions. At the same time, the session questions the limits of technical solutions: how far can innovation address opposition, and where do deeper issues of trust and legitimacy remain decisive? The discussion links engineering, ESG, feasibility and project readiness, highlighting the idea that in Europe the projects most likely to succeed may be those designed from the outset for a higher threshold of environmental and social performance.

A conversation around design, impact reduction, environmental performance and permitting readiness.

The final session examines how AI, Big Data, and Remote Sensing are revolutionizing both exploration and operations across the continent. By digitizing the entire value chain—from initial geological surveys to the final concentrate—companies can de-risk projects for investors and improve operational efficiency. The session will showcase how Irish and European tech firms are leading the way in “Sub-Surface Intelligence,” providing the data needed to secure the next generation of mining finance.

Forum moderators will provide a high-level overview of their respective sessions, distilling the key discussion points, participant suggestions, and core feedback.